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From St. Johns to East Portland to the Southwest Hills: The City is updating the Comprehensive Plan

The City of Portland is updating its Comprehensive Plan — something that only happens every 20 to 30 years. Covering nearly 145 square miles, it’s a massive undertaking for any jurisdiction, and Portland is no exception.

Nearly half the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is working on some part of the Comprehensive Plan Update — from the district liaisons who work closely with community members, economic planners and demographers, to urban designers, communications and outreach staff, interns and the technical services team responsible for the interactive Map App and web design.

Portland has only created one Comprehensive Plan before, and that was adopted almost 35 years ago. Today’s advances in technology provide planners with so much more information and data that it takes more time to analyze and apply the findings to our work.

There’s definitely more to consider this time around. Portland is a third again as big as it was then, mostly due to annexation. And our increasingly diverse population has grown by 200,000 people.

The issues the plan is addressing are also broader and more complex. In 1980, the key goals of the Comprehensive Plan were to develop vibrant neighborhoods around a robust transit system and reduce air pollution in the Central City.

This new Comprehensive Plan is all that and more. In addition to creating healthy connected neighborhoods all over the city (not just in the inner neighborhoods), this plan aims to encourage job growth, create greenways and habitat corridors for humans and wildlife, increase equity through strategic infrastructure investments, improve resiliency to earthquakes and other natural hazards, and address climate change.

On July 21, the three parts of the Proposed Draft of the Comprehensive Plan will be released. You will be able to review the Comprehensive Plan (Goals and Policies) and Citywide Systems Plan online at www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/pdxcompplan.

An online Map App showing the proposed land use map changes throughout the city will also be available. You can sign up to see a preview of the interactive map by going to: www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/mapapp. Starting July 21, the public comment period on the Proposed Draft will open, and you’ll be able to make comments directly onto the Map App.

The Proposed Draft is headed to the Planning and Sustainability Commission, and all public feedback will be processed through the commission. Tips for testifying in writing or in person are on the PSC website.